Method of copying letters and documents



` UNIT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NORMAN C. srILEs, or MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT..

METHOD'OF COPYING LETTERS AND DOCUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 377,583. dated February?, 1888.

. Application filed February 19, 1886. Serial No. 192,494. (No model.)

-To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, NORMAN C. STILEs, of Middletown, in the county* of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvenientin Method of Copying Letters and Documents; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference y `marked thereon, -to be a full, clear, and exact 1O description of the saine, andwhich said drawings -constitute part of this specification, andI f represent, in-

Figure 1, an end view of a machine adapted to carry out my invention; Fig. 2, a top View of the same; Fig. 3, a transverse section; Fig. 4, a longitudinal section immediatelyin front of the rolls B D, and looking toward the rolls; Fig. 5, a modification.

This invention relates to an improvement in the method of copying manuscript,letters, and other documents written with what is commonly called copying-ink, the Object being to copy upon a continuous vstrip of paper, in contradistinction to sheets or books, as heretofore practiced; and the invention consists in applying the letters or documents in succes# sion to a continuous strip of copying-paper, the

said strip and successive documents passedbetween compressingsurfaces, the paper be` ing dampened preparatory to such passage between the compressing devices, and whereby in such passage the dampened strip will cause the transfer from the document to the strip, as more fully hereinafter described.

In carrying out my invention the best ap vparatus known to me is that which I have shown and described 'in anotherapplication, Serial. No. 173,383, and which Ialsoshow in the accompanyingillustration and that others may understand the operation of the apparatus I will proceed to describe it.

A is the tank or reservoir adapted to hold Water for'copying, and is made of any convenient size and shape. In'suitable bearings, a a,inside the tank,a roll,B,is arranged. The bearings a a rest upon the respective ends of a spring, G, in the tank below the roll,'the force of the spring being upward. The bearings a are adapted to move in guides b b, so that they may have a certain amount of nearly vertical movement.. In the same guides, but above the bearings a, bearings d are arranged,

pivot when the lever is vturned down, as seen in Fig. 1, and from the studs flinks F connect with the ends of the shaft of the rollrfD,

as seen in Fig. 4. When the lever is turned' carrying a similar roll, D, these rolls adapted down, as seen in Fig. 1, the link holds the upf" per roll hard down upon the lower roll and compresses the spring Oto some'extent'; but as thelever is turned upward to the position vseen in broken lines, Fig. 3, the stud j'swings upward andimparts vertical movement to the shaft and the roll Dseparating it 'from thev roll below, as indicated in' Fig. 3; The two.

levers E E are connected at their extreme ends by arod, G, so that the two levers will move together, and thereby act upon both ends of the roll at the same time.

VOn the shaft G a roll, H, of copying-paper is arranged, so as to be conveniently drawn from as may be required in4 the operation of the press.

I is a guide-roll, near the edge of the tank opposite the principal rolls B D, under which the paper will pass from the roll G between the rolls B D, as indicated in Fig. 3. Outside the roll D is a guide-roll, J, over which the paper passes to a shaft, K,where the paper is Wound as it passes between the rolls B D.

The shaft of the roll D has a crank, L, ap-

plied toit, by which it may be conveniently turned,and on the same shaftis afgrooved pulley, M, and asimilar grooved pulley,\N,-is arranged on the shaft K, with a band around 'the two, so that rotation imparted to the roll D will in like manner be imparted to the shaft K, so that paper drawn through between the rolls B D will pass overthe roll J and be wound upon the shaft K. The direction of revolution of the roll D is. indicated by the arrow,

Fig. 3, and so as to draw the paper from the"` rollH, and the direction of revolution of the shaft K is to wind the paper so drawn from an-elastic material, as rubber, or any 'suit-- the roll H. The rolls B'D are best made from 1 able iiexible material which may serve as lpressu re-rolls upon the paper passing between them. The tank is filled with water, so thatat least the lower portion of thel roll B may be Y immersed and runthcrein,and so that the roll B, so revolving, will take up a-certain amount of water upon its surface, and the surface so moistened will moisten the paper passing between the rolls B D; drawn from the roll H.

In operation, the copying-paper arranged as described,and the roll B, adapted to nioisten the copying-paper, the rollsB D, held in close bearing-contact, the letter or document to be copied is placed upon the copying-paper in rear of the roll D, the written surface on the copying-paper, and the rolls B D, revolving, will draw the copying-paper and the document to be copied between them. rPhe copyingpaper being moistened as it enters between the rolls, the document and the copying-paper will be hard pressed together, so that the copying-paper will take its impression from the writing on the document, and thence the copying-paper, together with the document, will pass out over the roll D, delivering the document, while the paper copied upon will be wound upon the shaft K. Thus successive copies may be made and wound upon the roll. Each document may be numbered so as to leave the same number at the place in the pa per where it is copied, and so that an index may be made, indicating the position of the copy, as in a book, Vthe paper to be unrolled when it is desired to examine the copy. One roll of paper having been consumed, a new roll is introduced, and the copying proceeds as before. This method is specially adapted to copying telegraphic messages, but may be used with great advantage in copying documents which consist of numerous pages, and is also applicable to general press-copying purposes.

It will be understood that this method may be employed in different constructions of apparatus, not constituting any part of the present invention, the essential feature of this invention being and what I claim is The method herein described for copying manuscript documents upon a continuous strip of copying-paper, consisting of the following steps: first, placing the written documents successively upon one surface of the strip of copying-paper; second, dampening the strip, and, third, subjecting the strip and successive documents to pressure, whereby the dampness of the strip will canse the transfer of the contents of the document to the strip, substantially as described.

NORMAN C. STILES.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL L. WARNER, HARRIS VARNER. 

